New York

HAS China bitten off more than it can chew when it comes to making chips? That's where Orbotech Ltd comes in: to make sure the billions are well spent.

Orbotech makes inspection and repair tools that help factories avoid errors as they pump out increasingly complex chips for smartphones and tablets. Its market capitalisation surpassed US$1 billion in March, a level not seen since the dotcom era: it has rallied 18 per cent this year, compared with a 5.7 per cent gain in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index and a one per cent drop in the Nasdaq Composite Index.